Holland Foils Saudis' Quest For Rich Upset

June 21, 1994|By James Warren, Tribune Staff Writer.

WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia was so thrilled to qualify for the World Cup, it supposedly gave each player a $100,000 bonus and promised another $100,000 and a Mercedes-Benz if the team made the final in Pasadena, Calif.

For 86 of 90 entertaining minutes Monday evening, the prospect loomed of King Fahd shipping over some Rolls-Royces as the Saudis, in their first World Cup game, verged on a stunning upset before succumbing to their inexperience and powerhouse Holland 2-1.

This sporting soap opera almost always has some upstart conquering a goliath or two before returning to reality. Would it be Saudi Arabia?

The Dutch, prime favorites despite the loss of two stars to injury-one to an ankle, the other to his ego in a snit with the coach-confronted a young, fleet-footed band of opportunists. The Saudis disrupted Holland's ultimately effective display of "total football," a style that eschews traditional defensive and offensive roles and relies on highly talented interchangeable parts.

With members of the royal family on hand, the Saudis launched impressive early forays, relying on their patriarch of a striker, national hero Majed Abdullah Mohammed, 35, tagged the "Pele of the Desert." He just missed a goal with a header 45 seconds into the match, and in a nifty series of moves, spun two Dutch defenders like tops near their goalmouth before losing his balance and a chance for a shot.

Mohammed was soon hobbled and replaced. But by then, the Saudis had struck with exactly the sort of well-practiced, preplanned set piece for which the Dutch are feared. After a Dutch foul outside their own penalty area, a free kick by Saudi defender Abdullah Al Dosari found the head of a diving Fuad Amin, his team's hottest player at 21. Goalie Ed De Goej had no chance. For the moment, a nation which has poured huge sums into developing a sports program surely felt no less pleased than when Saddam Hussein was driven out of Kuwait.

But Holland surged after halftime and wore down the less physical Saudis. At the 50-minute mark, Wim Jonk, a potent midfielder and the night's top performer, took a pass from 35 yards out, dead center, dribbled three times and launched a rocket right at the Saudi goalie, Mohammed Al Deayea. Then it dove right and downward, like a pitcher's screwball, into the net.

Jonk nearly completed his own instant replay a few minutes later as the Dutch exploited a defense that seemed to lose concentration and at times relied too much on finesse near its goal.

With four minutes left and a still impressive tie beckoning for the Saudis, goalie Al Deayea, 21, made a horrendous error in coming too far out for a Dutch cross, then whiffing with his right fist as he sought to bat it away. A dreadlocked Dutch forward, Gaston Taument, swept in from behind an headed it into an empty net.